4 ms·

>you cannot do so with steam, if they decide to remove that game I am not aware of any case in which the game was removed from Steam and made unavailable to th

>you cannot do so with steam, if they decide to remove that game I am not aware of any case in which the game was removed from Steam and made unavailable to those who purchased it. I have several games in my Steam library where they stopped offering for sale and I can still download and play. I also have one game I can download but not play since the publisher took the backend servers offline. Steam is still hosting the installer.

rincebrain 2y ago
I think the two key points are that 1) you are at Steam's mercy to do that, regardless of whether they are a good actor now and 2) unless the dev actively set up branches for you to use, I don't think Steam lets you easily play older versions, so it's nontrivial to play the game as it was "at release", if that's your goal.
- themaninthedark 2y ago
  No, you can't easily play a game "as released" with today's model. However, on the other hand, how many old games can you only play "as released" as the developer and/or publisher has gone out of business and the patches are no longer hosted? Of the two, which is a greater impact? I know of many games with bugs, some even showstopping ones and can't think of any game that I want to play "as released" because the patch makes things worse.
  - rincebrain 2y ago
    It depends on your goals. Speedrunners, for instance, often prefer very specific releases of games, because they rely on glitches that have since been fixed. Sometimes the latest rev a dev shipped before falling off the planet has game-changing behaviors, like stripping all the licensed music because you lost the license.
Larrikin 2y ago
Even if Steam remains a perfect platform that always fights for the player, why do you assume that Steam will be around as a company in 30 years, 10 years, or even one? Physical games or a model like Gog ensure you will be able to play the games in the future. Digital games where you can't transfer the offline installer to any platform you want is trading convenience today for a guarantee you will buy or pirate it in the future.
- c0wb0yc0d3r 2y ago
  The following is mostly off topic. For those that buy games on Gog, what has been your strategy for backing up the installers? It seems they only make the last few patches available for download. Do you download every patch, or just the installers?
- themaninthedark 2y ago
  >Even if Steam remains a perfect platform that always fights for the player, why do you assume that Steam will be around as a company in 30 years, 10 years, or even one? Your point on Steam is good but the same holds for GOG. They could be acquired or go under just as well and I doubt that most people are keeping backups of all the installers.
  - Larrikin 2y ago
    I view the installers the same as the discs or cartridges. They are yours and it's your responsibility to keep up with them if you want to play them in the future. But unlike a disc or cartridge you can have it backed up in multiple places, more similar to family photos.
- Ferret7446 2y ago
  Most Steam games can be "backed up" and played offline. It is the publisher's discretion whether DRM is used, including Steam's DRM. Also, fundamentally the issue of copyright is a government enforced artificial monopoly. It's ultimately up to to the governments whether you can "own" any digital media in the future. Hypothetically, the governments could come to take your physical media, and the only thing you can do to defend your rights is with arms, hence the US's fixation on their Second Amendment.

rincebrain 2y ago

I think the two key points are that 1) you are at Steam's mercy to do that, regardless of whether they are a good actor now and 2) unless the dev actively set up branches for you to use, I don't think Steam lets you easily play older versions, so it's nontrivial to play the game as it was "at release", if that's your goal.

themaninthedark 2y ago
No, you can't easily play a game "as released" with today's model. However, on the other hand, how many old games can you only play "as released" as the developer and/or publisher has gone out of business and the patches are no longer hosted? Of the two, which is a greater impact? I know of many games with bugs, some even showstopping ones and can't think of any game that I want to play "as released" because the patch makes things worse.
- rincebrain 2y ago
  It depends on your goals. Speedrunners, for instance, often prefer very specific releases of games, because they rely on glitches that have since been fixed. Sometimes the latest rev a dev shipped before falling off the planet has game-changing behaviors, like stripping all the licensed music because you lost the license.

Larrikin 2y ago

Even if Steam remains a perfect platform that always fights for the player, why do you assume that Steam will be around as a company in 30 years, 10 years, or even one? Physical games or a model like Gog ensure you will be able to play the games in the future. Digital games where you can't transfer the offline installer to any platform you want is trading convenience today for a guarantee you will buy or pirate it in the future.

c0wb0yc0d3r 2y ago
The following is mostly off topic. For those that buy games on Gog, what has been your strategy for backing up the installers? It seems they only make the last few patches available for download. Do you download every patch, or just the installers?
themaninthedark 2y ago
>Even if Steam remains a perfect platform that always fights for the player, why do you assume that Steam will be around as a company in 30 years, 10 years, or even one? Your point on Steam is good but the same holds for GOG. They could be acquired or go under just as well and I doubt that most people are keeping backups of all the installers.
- Larrikin 2y ago
  I view the installers the same as the discs or cartridges. They are yours and it's your responsibility to keep up with them if you want to play them in the future. But unlike a disc or cartridge you can have it backed up in multiple places, more similar to family photos.
Ferret7446 2y ago
Most Steam games can be "backed up" and played offline. It is the publisher's discretion whether DRM is used, including Steam's DRM. Also, fundamentally the issue of copyright is a government enforced artificial monopoly. It's ultimately up to to the governments whether you can "own" any digital media in the future. Hypothetically, the governments could come to take your physical media, and the only thing you can do to defend your rights is with arms, hence the US's fixation on their Second Amendment.